Abstract
In Korea, about 3000 qualified male nurses enter the clinical nursing field annually; however, they face challenges in long-term job retention in general hospitals. Therefore, this study characterized the work and life experiences of mid-career male nurses engaged in clinical nursing care. Participants were nine registered nurses with a minimum of five years’ work experience in a general hospital in Korea. Data were collected through face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews. A phenomenological qualitative design was used with Colaizzi’s data analysis method. Three categories, eight theme clusters, and seventeen themes were revealed. The three categories were “limitations and adaptation to work performance”, “interpersonal difficulties and coping”, and “facing reality and preparing for the future”. Findings suggested that mid-career male nurses were considering transitioning to other job roles. These findings help clarify the clinical work experience of mid-career male nurses and their difficulties with job retention. The results provide basic data that may inform the design of policies to practically support male nurses in preserving their careers.
Highlights
Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, 20 Boramae-ro 5-gil, Red Cross College of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, Korea
Gender, race, and class are factors that affect the ability of individuals to get higher wages and advance to senior positions on the glass escalator, which is reported to be advantageous for male nurses [9,13]
Male nurses are relatively few in number as compared to female nurses, which makes it more difficult for them to adapt to the strict hierarchical clinical culture and establish themselves as experienced nurses
Summary
The proportion of registered male nurses is 23% in the Netherlands, 11.7% in Australia, 11% in the UK, 9.6% in the US, and 9% in New Zealand [1]. Public Health 2021, 18, 6224 and has increased their job stress These factors affect male nurses’ career management [15,16]. Male nurses tend to face problems with stereotypes that can hinder their focus on nursing [17] They experience workplace discrimination in employment opportunities or promotion, quit their jobs, or move to special fields such as psychiatry, emergency rooms, operating rooms, or intensive care units to escape the “feminine image” of nursing [10]. The clinical practice experience of mid-career male nurses likely differs from that of female or recently-graduated nurses; to date, the latter two groups have been the main focus of research in this field [7,21]. It aimed to provide basic data to help devise a working environment and organizational culture that fosters male clinical nurses’ long-term job retention
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